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2 unique strategies for service industry folks to cut back on drinking

Last updated September 06, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Shaun McGuire has bartended in and around Peekskill, NY for years. He knows the community, has a ton of regulars, and has become legit friends with some of them (gone to their weddings, etc.)

This is of course great. As Shaun says, "as a bartender people are paying to spend time with you," and that feels good.

But there's a risk to the lifestyle too, and it's something most—if not all—bartenders deal with at some point: it's very easy to drink too much because there's always an excuse to have a drink.



Beer store owner: I'm not obsessed w/ biz growth

Last updated September 06, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Nick Wendowski and his wife bought Stone's Beer & Beverage in 2019. They had no experience in the industry and Nick's qualifications didn't go beyond liking good beer.

But after years in the corporate world, he realized he wanted something more meaningful out of his career. For him and his wife, that meant owning businesses in their home neighborhood. This would allow them to provide services (plural because his wife runs a yoga studio down the street) to their neighbors and feel like they were making a positive contribution to the community they love. Not to mention eliminating their commute and spending more time with one another.

How they bought the beer store is a long and winding tale involving a couple years, long nights, and a single beer with the store owner (check out the video clip for more on that), but the most compelling thoughts Nick shared came when I asked him about his 5-10 year vision for the business.

Here are some takeaways:



Make your QR Menus a top marketing channel

Last updated August 31, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

What started as a menu necessity during Covid has sneakily become one of the best marketing channels available to bars and restaurants. That's right: I'm talking about QR Menus, those little black-and-white squares you saw basically nowhere in the US prior to spring/summer 2020.

Here's how Rob Austin, a marketing expert who runs marketing for Leader Bar in Chicago, explains the marketing opportunity offered by a robust QR Code Menu system:



Here's how to take good photos for your bar, restaurant, or brewery's social media profile

Last updated August 17, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Given how visually driven social media is, it's essential to have good photos that catch customers'—and prospective customers'—eyes. But taking good photos is hard, especially if you don't have any training. Where should you take the photos? When? How many? How often?

Enter Rob Austin, who has a background in photography and videography and now runs marketing for Leader Bar in Chicago. We picked Rob's brain for easy tips (that anyone can do) on how to take great social media photos, and he gave us nine great ones:




Bartenders & servers: 4 step process for getting your finances under control

Last updated August 02, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

In our last 2 newsletters we've featured advice from Shaun McGuire, a bartender extraordinaire and service industry expert who coaches bartenders on work/life balance, finances, etc. (Learn more about that part of his life on his website, philosophicallydrunk.com.)

That last point—finances—is the focus of Shaun's advice this week, specifically how bartenders, servers (and anyone else, really) can go about wrangling their finances.

In short, if it feels like you just can't get ahead of your spending, this week's interview is for you.



How bartenders and servers can retire early

Last updated July 25, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Last week we talked with bartender extraordinaire and life coach Shaun McGuire about money management for folks in the service industry. This week we're covering a related topic—how people in the service industry can set themselves up for a cushy retirement.



5 biggest problems faced by bartenders

Last updated July 13, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Last week we featured our first interview clip with Shaun McGuire, a 20-year industry vet and bartender coach. In that clip we covered some surprising data he's uncovered about bartenders.

This week's clip focuses on Shaun's coaching. For years Shaun's co-workers and other bartenders have come to him for advice on all manner of things. Throughout the many conversations that followed he's realized that the biggest problems bartenders face almost always fall into these 5 categories:



Treat staff like you treat your customers

Last updated July 07, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

The last couple weeks Beth Hussey, staff training expert and founder of staff training app Shifty, walked us through both the mistakes most bars and restaurants make when doing training and also the proven staff training process she's used for decades with thousands of servers and bartenders.

This week Beth just offers some quick, general words of wisdom about how to treat staff—a simple turn of phrase that will make staff training easier and will make staff retention a reality for your business: treat your staff like you would your customers.

Check out the short interview clip to learn more about what Beth means: